Innocence Can Kill
by Essence Of Reality
Summary: Twist on how Alice became the Lotus Master. Starts from the beginning of plot, and retains most original characters, but they meet under considerably different circumstances... AFr
1. R

:INnOceNCe cAN kiLL:

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:Chapter 1:

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Yuu Watase's plot or characters. She is much too brilliant for the likes of me. So don't rub it in, or you'll regret it.**

"Alice, are you sure you turned in that assignment?"

Alice nodded her head emphatically, her shoulder-length dark hair sweeping into her face.

Her teacher sighed, once again flicking his gaze to the names on the papers in front of him. "Well… are you sure you couldn't check to see if it's in you binder, or something? Because I have everyone else's papers here."

Inwardly sighing, Alice forced a weary smile, and proceeded to head back to her seat.

"Alice."

She turned back around, trying not to let her impatience show. This teacher really irked her, in more ways than one.

"If you don't turn it in, you know I will have to give you an incomplete on your report card, right?"

Once again nodding, Alice turned away so he couldn't get another word in edgewise. Sitting back in her seat, she pretended to be shuffling through papers. Instead, she let her mind wander.

Suddenly, the bell rang. Alice jumped, caught up in her own thoughts, and quickly started stuffing papers in her bag. She didn't want to be cornered by the teacher on her way out. Hopefully, if she were one of the first ones, he would leave her alone.

No such luck.

"Miss Seno. May I speak with you a moment?"

Sighing inwardly, Alice hugged her books to her chest and walked over to him. He was still at his desk, grading papers. She knew what he was going to ask her: if she had found that stupid English assignment. She _had_ handed it in, but he had somehow managed to misplace it. Inwardly, she wondered if it really _had_ been an accident.

After a moment, he looked up. "Did you happen to find your paper?"

Alice shook her head, averting her gaze. The teacher sighed once again, rubbing his temples. As if any of this were _her_ fault. She was suddenly overcome with the urge to slap him; he was annoying, and he was wasting her time.

For a second, she felt a strange kind of fury rise inside of her. Noticing what she was doing, she jumped a bit. _Now where did that come from?_ she wondered, bringing a hand to her forehead. She had never had openly hostile thoughts to teachers, even particularly annoying ones such as Mr. Haven.

"Well… look for it tonight. After tomorrow, I can no longer give you any credit. Okay? Oh, by the way, are you doing anything right now?"

Alice wanted to groan, but she forced herself to shake her head. Right now was not a good time to offend the teacher.

He smiled briefly, then handed her a slip of paper. "Can you run down to the library and check the entries that students submitted to the Writing Contest? If there are any entries, please collect them and put them on my desk. I can drive you home."

Alice nodded, though he was no longer watching her, and turned on her heel. She kept her head ducked in the hallways, pretending to be fascinated with the books she was holding.

Which is why she collided with something very solid. She seemed to fall backwards in slow motion, landing on her butt with a small _thump!_

In her line of vision, a hand slowly stretched out toward her. She looked up to see who the owner was. He was a tall boy with black hair and kind dark eyes. His body was muscular, and she thought she recognized him from the Archery Club. Alice's sister, Mayura, also belonged to that club. Alice made a mental note to ask her about him later.

It must have been him that she had bumped into. Alice felt her cheeks flush. Embarrassed, she hesitantly accepted his hand as he helped to pull her up.

"Thank you…" she said quietly, not trusting herself to look up.

"No problem. My name is Kyo."

He obviously wanted to know her name. _Just say it._

_But I can't._

_Just do it!_

But she couldn't. She nodded politely and walked away, her departure greeted with loud laughter and a confused Kyo, still standing in the middle of the hallway.

**A/N:** Revised: 8-22-05

Just finished revising some of this chapter. :3 And no, I haven't left. I suddenly was inspired yesterday with a new idea for the fic.

Though I'm not sure the readers are going to like it very much... it doesn't exactly have a happy ending. xP

I hope to get the next chapter up soon!

-Essence of Reality


	2. A

:INnOceNCe cAN kiLL:

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:A:

Alice sighed as she slunk down against the wall, her backpack rising up her spine and her books falling beside her. She was in the girls' bathroom- not a very original hiding place, but Alice had come to know it since the first day she had arrived at high school.

Now… she was trying to sort through her thoughts, disorganized as they were. She kept flashing back to the confused and slightly hurt look on the boy's face. _Kyo…_ the voice ran through her mind, making her shiver.

_Why can't I be… more like Sis? _She thought, her eyes filling with tears. _Mayura is perfect in every way… Will I ever _not _be in her shadow?_ Gloominess seemed to wash over her in waves. Gathering her books up in one hand, she angrily wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her white blouse, slamming the bathroom door behind her.

Little did she know that in one of the stalls, two eyes were watching her intently, studying her every move. And that person was very interested in what Alice was doing. Very interested indeed.

¥

"So, Seno, how does it feel the laughing stock of the whole school?" a senior asked, laughing at her in the hallway.

Alice flushed slightly, but said nothing. She merely slipped quietly into her German class, taking a seat near the back. She could hear some whispering around her, but she ignored it.

The teacher cleared her throat, narrowing her eyes at the students speaking. All chatter immediately ceased. "Students," the woman said in a deep monotonous voice, "Today we will be picking our Deutsch names."

She handed out a list, passing several papers to each row. "Now, when I call your name, tell me what name you have chosen."

Alice swept her gaze over it, absently brushing the very tip of her pencil against the names as she made her way down. "Ursula, Gabi, Tanja…. They all sound… harsh," she murmured quietly to herself.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her hand. Gasping, she looked at it. She was holding the pencil, poised over the desk. Her hand was moving of it's own accord, embedding deep scratches with the pencil on the polished oak of the desk. Gasping, Alice tried in vain to pull away her hand, only to see white spots dance in front of her vision.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Looking down upon the desk, she saw a single word carved upon the wood.

'Rangu.'

†¥†

**Please review!**

**-Essence of Reality**


	3. N

:Innocence Can Kill:

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:Chapter 3:

:N:

"Hey Alice!" Mayura called cheerfully from the hallway, her arm looped around yet another guy's elbow. Alice turned, smiling.

"Hey Sis..."she said, then stopped as she recognized the boy. It was the guy who she had run from! Her cheeks flamed in embarrassment, and she hung her head.

Mayura merely raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, laughing slightly. "Alice, this is Kyo. He's on the archery team with me. Kyo, this is Alice, my little sister."

Alice winced slightly. She hated being called the 'little sister.' She chanced a glance at Kyo's face, and he smiled at her, a glint of recognition showing in his facial expression.

"Hello, nice to meet you," he said politely, inclining his head. Alice let out the breath she had been holding- at least he didn't bring up that incident... Mayura smiled again, perfect wavy blond hair swishing against Kyo's bare forearm.

She waved as she continued down the hallway, engaged in conversation with her new ornament. With a sigh, Alice dipped her head back down and hugged her books to her chest, auburn bangs coming in front of her eyes. She had just come out of German class... luckily, no one had let their eyes linger near her long enough to look at her desk. It wouldn't be too long, though, she knew. Someone would find out- and they would turn to her.

A bell sounded in her ears- the bell for dismissal. So school was over... what a relief. Absently, she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, twisting them slightly around her finger. She had to check the entries for Mr. Hachimura

She turned into the library entrance, going to the box where the entries were collected. In the school they had a literary magazine each month called Transport. The student body put in poems and/or stories, and they were inserted in the magazine.

Mr. Hachimura ran the magazine, since he was the only teacher not coaching a sports team. And Alice had made the mistake of agreeing to help him with the club- no one else was crazy enough to. All the teachers asked her to do things other students wouldn't do- they knew she would never refuse.

She reached the admission box, peering inside as she took of the lid. It had a big pile of papers in it... that was strange. Usually there was only a paper or two. Mr. Hachimura would have a party...

She leafed through them, counting the pages. 35. "Wow..." she whispered, whistling softly. She went through the pile once more, separating the works. A few of them were poems, and she put them in separate piles. The rest... was all one story. She stared at it in amazement. How could a thirty-page story be published in a literary magazine? It was impossible. She glanced at it again, then shook her head. She would come back to it later. For now, she would glance over the poems, editing any grammar mistakes. The first poem was a joke- some sappy love poem that a guy had obviously written in a matter of ten seconds (It was on torn loose-leaf paper in pencil).

_Love_

_I love peaches._

_I love pie._

_I love you Marie,_

_So do you want to get together for some fries?_

_-Jace_

Alice suppressed a snort and put the paper aside. What was this, a dating magazine? She picked up the next paper. This one was neater, though not by much.

_Sports_

_Feel the power, _

_Feel the punch,_

_It gets me high,_

_Even at lunch._

_At basketball,_

_I feel so tall,_

_I want to fly,_

_The game is mine._

_-Brad Larak_

This one should be titled 'Gatorade'... she thought with a laugh. She placed it on the pile with the other one, then moved on to the next paper. So far, this was great. She was getting a lot of amusement... Something she hadn't had for a while. A real smile. Three more poems to go...

_School_

_I love school._

_The books, the rules?_

_Politics will be my gain,_

_Though people question if I'm sane._

_I will surpass them all I know,_

_Just give me a textbook and off I go!_

_I will study, hard and true,_

_To be the best,_

_Way better than YOU!_

_-Willard Sanchez III_

Big surprise who that is... Alice thought. Willard was nice, for the most part. He was the smartest kid in school, and he knew it too. He had orange-red hair, and a permanent smirk. He used to wear thick glasses, but now he wore contacts. Alice didn't mind him much... he ignored her, just like everyone else. Two more poems to go.

_My Heart_

_You once made the tears overflow,_

_One after another, they wouldn't seem to go._

_Now I feel so numb, no feeling is left,_

_You left me here, alone and bereft._

_How could you have done this?_

_You cut me so deep_

_I don't think I will ever heal,_

_You've killed me in my sleep. _

_I thought you were my prince,_

_My happily ever after._

_But now it seems..._

_That I will never love again._

_Save me from this misery,_

_Shoot me while I'm weak,_

_Now that you have found my weakness,_

_I know I shouldn't have let you in so deep._

_Why won't you leave?_

_Your endless picture... still etched in my mind,_

_The thought of life without you.._

_To you my heart is forever signed..._

_Away._

_-Anon._

Tears were swimming in her eyes, and she blinked them away. That poem... it seemed to touch so deeply. Even though Alice had never known love, she wept for the anonymous author. Wept for the joy that she would never know... and never wished to know. With a trembling hand, she placed that paper as well on the pile. Only one more poem to go...

_Always Watching_

_Forever wishing;_

_Always._

_I wish you could hear._

_But you don't._

_I wish you could see what is meant for you to see._

_But you don't_

_You can't see the truth-_

_It's right in front of you._

_Can you see me watching you?_

_Alone in the shadows?_

_Can you hear my heartbeat-_

_So close in sync to yours?_

_You must know it is destined-_

_You and I._

_You and I..._

_We are meant to be- you should see it._

_But you don't._

_You are meant for so much more- you should know it..._

_But you don't._

_You sit there, _

_Alone._

_I watch you,_

_Alone._

_And my heart aches for you, _

_Nothing is more heart-rending than this._

_You close off your heart to all-_

_Don't you see the darkness growing within you?_

_You should see it._

_But you don't._

_You are mine..._

_Alice._

Her heart almost jumped out of chest. She jumped up, dropping the paper to the ground. Her pulse sounded wildly in her ears, her eyes wide with shock. **_Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump... _**

It wasn't possible. She laughed, though her voice sounded high and foreign to her ears. It wasn't- it couldn't. She slowly sank into the chair again, hands trembling. She didn't dare glance down at the paper. It **had** to be another Alice. But what other Alice's were in the school? None.

She glanced back down at the paper. The words were still there. _You are mine... Alice._ Without a thought she jumped back up, grabbed the papers off her desk, and ran the couple blocks from the school to her house.

As if she could run from fate itself.

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**A/N: BWAHAHAHA! A long chapter! At least, I think it it… -pouts- It was fun to write, especially the poems… lol.**

**Yeah… I spelled 'Rangu' wrong… sorry people. And the teacher.. I just made up a name… x.x**

**Hope you liked the update! Thank you all for reviewing! It made my day…s. lol. Hopefully, I will update sooner next time. **

**Please review! **


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